Comments

MLB Picks

MLB Betting Preview: Toronto Blue Jays Team Profile 2016

The 2016 MLB season is less than two weeks away and the LT Profits Group are profiling every team to help with your MLB picks before opening day. Up next is the Toronto Blue Jays.

The time to play ball is almost here with the 2016 MLB season staring in less than two weeks, with three games Sunday, April 3rd and the rest of the league beginning play Monday, April 4th. We are attempting to help with your MLB picks by profiling all 30 MLB teams before opening day, continuing now with the Toronto Blue Jays, who finished in first place in the American League East in 2015 at 93-69 before advancing to the ALCS and losing to Kansas City.

To begin, here is a summary of the Toronto betting statistics for the 2015 season. Note that these stats are always for regular season games only and that the units won or lost are based on betting one unit every game, with those units and Over/Under records based on the closing lines from Pinnacle.

Toronto Blue Jays 2015 Betting Stats

Home

Away

Overall

Record

53-28

40-41

93-69

Units Won/Lost

+12.62

-2.17

+10.45

Over/Under

31-46-4

47-27-7

78-73-11

By winning the American League East last season, the Blue Jays ended a long post-season drought as they made the playoffs for the first time since the dramatic home run by Joe Carter way back in 1993! Toronto was terrific at home going 53-28 while earning 12.62 units for its supporters, and the +10.45 units won overall by the Blue Jays last season ranked them seventh on the Major :League Money Line Standings.

Next we take a look at the Blue Jays’ statistical summary for the 2015 season.

2015 Toronto Blue Jays Team Statistics

Total

Rank

Batting Average

.269

2nd

Runs per Game

5.50

1st

Home Runs

232

1st

OPS

.707

1st

ERA

3.81

12th

WHIP

1.21

7th

Bullpen ERA

3.50

12th

The Blue Jays did not have terrible pitching in 2015 ranking in the middle of the pack, but make no mistake, this was a team that bludgeoned its way to a division title with the best offense in baseball, leading the majors in runs scored, home runs and OPS while ranking second in team batting average. The Jays had three players drive in at least 111 runs in Josh Donaldson (123), Jose Bautista (114) and Edwin Encarnacion (111).

And now we take a peek at various Toronto Future Odds on winning the 2016 World Series from several top sportsbooks. You can view these and other MLB odds on the MLB Betting Futures Directory.

It is not surprising that the Blue Jays are one of the top three favorites across the board to represent the American League in the World Series along with the Royals and the Red Sox, but what is a surprise to us is the fairly low posted Toronto win total of 87½. The Blue Jays do not look any different than last year except for the acquisition of Drew Storen in the bullpen, which is a positive move.

2016 Toronto Blue Jays Batting Forecast
The Blue Jays had the highest collective offensive WAR in the Major Leagues last season and they have a chance of repeating that in 2016 as the ZiPS projections forecast Toronto batters to combine for around a 28 WAR this year, led by Donaldson (6.6) and Bautista (4.1). ZiPS also forecasts Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin to each account for a 3.5 WAR, followed by Encarnacion at 3.3.

There is only one obvious hole in the Toronto lineup and that is at second base with Devon Travis probably out until June following shoulder surgery after showing promise as a rookie last year. So it looks like Ryan Goins is the every-day second baseman for the time being barring a trade, and he projects to just a 0.3 WAR.

2016 Toronto Blue Jays Pitching Forecast
The starting rotation lost David Price, but remember he was just a hired gun for the second half of last season anyway. Marcus Stroman now figures to be the staff ace and he has the raw ability to live up to that task as long as he could avoid injury after tossing just 27 innings during the regular season last year. The Jays also brought back a familiar face by re-signing J.A. Happ after he had a nice season with the Pirates last year.

Remember that the Blue Jays won the division with then 20-year-old Roberto Osuna closing games in 2015, so having a veteran closer this year in Storen should make the bullpen better and more consistent. In fact, there has been some talk about converting Osuna into a starter in the near future, although he looks like a very nice set-up man for Storen for now.